Tag Archives: BasicResearch

Major cancer genotyping study logs 5,000th tumor profile

Posted on October 7, 2013 by Carol

Data can help scientists and physicians match precision drugs to a cancer’s genetic traits

More than 5,000 genetic profiles of tumor DNA have been completed in a large research study by scientists at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, and Boston Children’s Hospital designed to speed the development of personalized cancer care with precision treatments.  Scientists have also moved to the next generation of tumor DNA sequencing technology, which will significantly expand the range of genes and possible mutations to be analyzed, and the speed at which they are catalogued. They have also expanded the program to include pediatric cancer …

 

Study reveals how inherited risk factors in ‘junk DNA’ affect breast cancer predisposition

Posted on March 11, 2013 by Carol

Novel method provides insights in biology of breast cancer

Matthew Freedman, MD

In light of recent large population studies, it’s known that some people carry inherited DNA changes that increase their lifetime risk of diseases, including breast and prostate cancer. To the surprise of scientists, scores of these “risk alleles” have been found in vast regions of the genome – sometimes called “junk DNA” or “dark matter” – that don’t carry the genetic code for proteins, so how they influence an individual’s cancer risk isn’t known.
In a new study, scientists at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute have shown that several such alleles affect DNA …